Welcome to AgilITy

Ryan has been a magazine and newspaper editor for 18 years, with the last 12 covering a variety of bases for CDW’s family of tech magazines. As Editor in Chief, he works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the IT world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

Let's be honest. Not that long ago, it was fair to say that many small-business owners often didn't have the warmest attitudes toward technology. At best, many regarded IT as a set of tools that helped them get their work done — at worst, a necessary inconvenience that caused almost as many problems as it solved. The "IT guy" was relegated to functionary status, emerging from the server rooms only to troubleshoot problems and install software updates.

But that scenario is no more. Today, all but the smallest businesses rely on an ever-expanding universe of digital solutions: cloud-based offerings to market their services, perform HR tasks and manage their books; mobile apps to sell products and share their expertise; collaboration platforms to connect with far-flung colleagues; data analytics tools to inform strategic decisions; and so much more.

The right solutions, expertly deployed just when they're needed, are an indispensable element of business growth in a modern economy. And today's technology pros have become vital business leaders whose decisions impact the strategic direction of entire organizations.

The Stakes Are High for Small Businesses

It's exhilarating, but also a little terrifying, right? Your CEO, coworkers and customers depend on you to help light the way forward for the whole business.

You have to get these decisions right. And there are so many decisions to make —so many questions to answer.

Are you concerned about the security of your networks? You should be: There's a growing army of evil geniuses out there who've dedicated themselves to stealing your company's data and ransoming it back to you.

Are you trying to decide whetherpublic, private or hybrid cloud solutions are right for your organization? A lot of small businesses are wondering the same thing.

Are you not sure how to use customer data to drive decisions? That's an issue you'll need to address too — and soon.

Small-Business IT Pros Expect to Be Stretched Thinner

All these issues and more are straining small-business techies these days. Yet at the same time, they're also likely to be stretched thinner than their colleagues at larger businesses.

Only 9 percent of businesses with fewer than 100 employees expect their IT budgets to decline in 2018. Of the rest, about half plan to spend more on technology this year.

Yet small businesses are the least likely to increase their IT staffs. In fact, only about 1 in 3 intend to grow their technology teams this year.

That means the lion's share of new small-business tech spending will go toward solutions and upgrades, not to the IT departments charged with selecting, deploying and managing them. That will stretch IT leaders thinner than ever.